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iii. 10. The justice of God to the unpardoned sinner, that hath a sense of his misery, is more terrible than the sight of the bailiff or creditor to the bankrupt debtor, or than the sight of the judge and bench to the robber, or of the irons and gibbet to the guilty murderer. When justice sits upon life and death, Oh, what dreadful work doth it make with the wretched sinner! Bind him hand and foot, cast him into utter darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, Matt. xxii. 13. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, Matt. xxv. 41. This is the terrible sentence that justice pronounceth. Why, sinner, by this severe justice must thou be tried; and, as God liveth, this killing sentence shalt thou hear, unless thou repent, and be converted.

Secondly, The holiness of God is full of antipathy against thee, Ps. v. 4, 5. He is not only angry with thee, (so he may be with his own children) but he hath a fixed, rooted, habitual displeasure against thee; he loathes thee, Zech. xi. 8, and what is done by thee, though for substance commanded by him, Isa. i. 14, Mal. i. 10. As if a man should give his servant never so good meat to dress; yet, if he should mingle filth or poison with it, he would not touch it. God's nature is infinitely contrary to sin, and so he cannot but hate a sinner out of Christ.

Oh, what a misery is this, to be out of the favour, yea, under the hatred of God! Eccl.. v. 4, Hos. ix. 15. That God who can as easily lay aside his nature, and cease to be God, as not be contrary to thee, and detest thee, except thou be changed and renewed by grace. O sinner, how darest thou to think of the bright and radiant sun of purity, upon the beauties, the glory of holiness that is in God! The stars are not pure in his sight, Job xxv. 5. He humbleth himself to behold things that are done in heaven, Ps. cxiii. 6. O those light and sparkling eyes of his! what do they espy in thee! And thou hast no interest in Christ neither, that he should plead for thee. Methinks I should hear thee crying out, astonished, with the Bethshemites, Who shall stand before this holy Lord God? 1 Sam. vi.

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Thirdly, The power of God is mounted like a mighty cannon against thee. The glory of God's power is to be displayed, in the wonderful confusion and destruction of them that obey not the gospel, 2 Thess. i. 8, 9. He will make his power known in them, Rom. ix. 22. How mightily he can torment them! For this end he raiseth them up, that he might make his power known, Rom. ix. 17. O man, art thou able to make thy party good with thy Maker? No more than a silly reed against the cedars of God, or a little cock-boat against the tumbling ocean, or the childrens bubbles against the blustering winds.

Sinner, the power of God's anger is against thee, Ps. xc. 11, and power and anger together make fearful work. 'Twere better thou hadst all the world in arms against thee, than to have the power of God against thee. There is no escaping his hands, no breaking

his prison. "The thunder of his power who can understand?" Job xxvi. 14. Unhappy man, that shall understand it by feeling it! "If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him and prospered? which removeth the mountains, and they know it not: which overturneth them in his anger. Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not: and sealeth up the stars. Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What dost thou? If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him." Job ix. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 18. And art thou a fit match for such an antagonist? "Oh, consider this, you that forget God, lest he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you." Ps. 1. 22. Submit to mercy. Let not dust and stubble stand it out against the Almighty. Set not briars and thorns against him in battle, lest he go through them, and consume them together; but lay hold on his strength, that you may make peace with him, Isa. xxvii. 4, 5. Wo to him that striveth with his Maker, Isa. xlv. 9.

Fourthly, The wisdom of God is set to ruin thee. He hath ordained his arrows, and prepared the instruments of death, and made all things ready, Ps. vii. 12, 13. His counsels are against thee, to contrive thy destruction, Jer. xviii. 11. He laughs in himself, to see how thou wilt be taken and ensnared in. the evil day, Ps. xxxvii. 13. The Lord shall laugh at him, for he seeth that his day is coming. He sees how thou wilt come down mightily in a moment; how thou wilt wring thine hands, and tear thine hair, and eat thy flesh, and gnash thy teeth for anguish and astonishment of heart, when thou seest thou art fallen remedilessly into the pit of destruction.

Fifthly, The truth of God is sworn against thee, Ps. xcv. 11. If he be true and faithful, thou must perish, if thou goest on, Luke xiii. 3. Unless he be false of his word, thou must die, except thou repent, Ezek. xxxiii. 11. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself, 2 Tim. ii. 18, that is, he is faithful to his threatnings as well as promises, and will shew his faithfulness in our confusion, if we believe not. God hath told thee, as plain as it can be spoken, That if he wash thee not, thou hast no part in him, John xiii. 8. That if thou livest after the flesh thou shalt die, Rom. viii. 13. That except thou be converted, thou shalt in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven, Matt. xviii. 3. And he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself.. Beloved, as the immutable faithfulness of God in his promise and oath, afford believers strong consolation, Heb. vi. 18, so they are to unbelievers, for strong consternation and confusion. O sinner, tell me, what shift dost thou make to think of all the threatnings of God's word, that stand upon record against thee? Dost thou believe their truth, or not? If not, thou art a wretched infidel, and not a Christian, and therefore give over the name

and hopes of a Christian. But if thou dost believe them, O heart of steel that thou hast, that canst walk up and down in quiet, when the truth and faithfulness of God is engaged to destroy thee! That if God Almighty can do it, thou shalt surely perish and be damned. Why, man, the whole book of God doth testify against thee, while thou remainest unsanctified: it condemns thee in every leaf, and is to thee, like Ezekiel's roll, written within and without, with lamentation, and mourning, and wo, Ezek. ii. 10. And all this shall surely come upon thee, and overtake thee, Deut. xxviii. 15, except thou repent. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but one jot or tittle of this word shall never pass away, Matt. v. 18.

Now put all this together, and tell me if the case of the unconverted be not deplorably miserable? As we read of some persons, that had bound themselves in an oath, and in a curse, to kill Paul; so thou must know, 0 sinner, to thy terror, that all the attributes of the infinite God are bound in an oath to destroy thee, Heb. iii. 28. O man! what wilt thou do? Whither wilt thou fly? If God's omnisciency can find thee, thou shalt not escape: if the true and faithful God will save his oath, perish thou must, except thou believe and repent: if the Almighty hath power to torment thee, thou shalt be perfectly miserable in soul and body to all eternity, unless it be prevented by thy speedy conversion.

II. The whole creation of God is against thee. The whole creation (saith Paul) groaneth and travaileth in pain, Rom. viii. 22, But

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